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tuck

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To pull or gather up.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tuhk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtʌk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To pull or gather up (an item of fabric).

  2. transitive

    To push into a snug position; to place somewhere safe, or handy, or somewhat hidden.

  3. To curl into a ball; to fold up and hold one's legs.

  4. Draw together into folds or puckers

  5. intransitiveoften with "in" or "into"

    To eat; to consume.

  6. To full, as cloth.

noun

  1. An act of tucking; a pleat or fold.

  2. The beat of a drum.

  3. A diminutive of the male given name Tucker.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To push into a snug position; to place somewhere safe, or handy, or somewhat hidden.

Used this way, tuck is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

friar tucktuck awaytummy tucktuck schoolamos tuck

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • tuckedadjectiveInflected form

    Having tucked or being tucked.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tuck inverbCompound term

    Eat up.

  • tuck boxnounCompound term

    A box for storing eatables (especially at boarding school).

  • tuck shopnounCompound term

    A candy store in Great Britain.

  • tucker-bagnounCompound term

    A bag used for carrying food.

  • tucker outverbCompound term

    Wear out completely.

  • tuck awayverbCompound term

    Eat up.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.